Managua- revolutionary Capital

Managua, the capital of Nicaragua was founded in the 16th century and since 1858 it is the political and economic center of the country.

Located at the southwestern end of Lake Managua, it is home to over one million people. Located in the City is not only the Government, but the administrative center, the seat of the Archbishop, the University of Centroamerica and the Central American Court of Justice.

Managua is an Indian term and stands for: "where there is a large water surface." Thus, the Managua Lake is meant but also the four lagoons that are located in the urban area.

Over the years, Managua survived some difficult times: The city had to deal with several challenging incidents like numerous powerful storms and earthquakes. The last disaster occurred in 1972 with a very strong earthquake, which destroyed the historic center and victimized thousands of people. The government decided to not rebuild the historic center. For this reason Managua has no real center and the cityscape is dominated by lower houses.

The infrastructure is quite well developed, all main roads in Nicaragua are leading towards the capital and the international airport is just a few minutes away. It can be reached on a new built highway. From Managua all buses are leaving to destinations within Nicaragua and their neighbor countries. We recommend visiting the Old Cathedral of Managua, the "Plaza de la Revolución" and the "Rubén Darío National Theater".